Alexander Alexandrovich Bashilov (; August 31, 1777 in

Hlukhiv Hlukhiv (, ; ) is a small historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Esman River. It belongs to Shostka Raion of Sumy Oblast of Ukraine. Population: It is known for being a capital of the Cossack Hetmanate after the deposition of Ivan M ...

– December 31, 1847 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) was a Russian general officer of

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

period, later engaged in

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

of Moscow and its suburbs.

Military career

Alexander Bashilov, commissioned on graduation from the Page Corps, joined the elite

Preobrazhensky regiment The Preobrazhensky Lifeguard (military), Life-Guards Regiment (, ''Preobrazhensky leyb-gvardii polk'') was a regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard, Imperial Guard of the Imperial Russian Army from 1683 to 1917. The Preobrazhensky Regiment was ...

in January 1798. An aide to

Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...

, he quickly rose to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in October 1800. In February 1802 he was stripped of his court titles for "indecent behaviour in a theatre" and transferred to a second-rate infantry regiment. He retired in November 1803 but returned to active service as a commanding officer of

Tambov Tambov ( , ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna ...

regiment in 1806. Bashilov was involved in four campaigns: * 1807 - Regimental commander against the French during

War of the Fourth Coalition The War of the Fourth Coalition () was a war spanning 1806–1807 that saw a multinational coalition fight against Napoleon's First French Empire, French Empire, subsequently being defeated. The main coalition partners were Kingdom of Prussia, ...

* 1809 - Brigade commander in Galician and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n campaign against the Turks during

Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) The Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire as one of 12 Russo-Turkish Wars. Both sides favoured peace as they feared Napoleon's moves to the east. Background The war broke out ...

, notably the siege of Pazardzhik. Promoted to General Major in June 1810 * 1812 - Brigade commander against the French during

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the Continenta ...

. Assigned to Alexander Tormasov's Observation Army, was engaged in defensive action at

Kobryn Kobryn or Kobrin is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Kobryn District. It is located in the southwestern corner of Belarus, where the Mukhavets river and Dnieper–Bug Canal meet. The town lies about east ...

and Gorodechna (July 31, 1812), earning

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

, fourth class for the latter. * 1813 - Siege of

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

. Bashilov, wounded, retired from the Army in May, 1813 for health reasons.

Urban planner

In 1825, Bashilov returned to state service in the office of Governor of Moscow; during

Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) The Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 resulted from the Greek War of Independence of 1821–1829; war broke out after the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II closed the Dardanelles to Russian Empire , Russian ships and in November 1827 revoked the 18 ...

he also had a temporary assignment in Army logistics. In 1830–1832, Bashilov headed the Building Commission of Moscow (Комиссия строений в Москве). Bashilov joined the city administration at the time when Moscow was still recovering from the destruction of Fire of 1812. He is remembered for planting the park around

Petrovsky Palace Petrovsky Palace or Petroff Palace, is a palace located in Moscow on Leningradsky Prospect. It was founded in 1780 under the orders of Catherine the Great. History Construction of the palace In the 1770s Catherine the Great decided to build ...

(then a distant north-western suburb) and planning the regular city grid along Petersburg Highway (present-day Leningradsky Prospekt) and north from the Palace (present-day Savyolovsky District). This grid mostly survives to day, including ''Bashilovskaya'' and ''Novaya Bashilovka'' streets. Bashilov owned a house on Petersburg Highway and rented it to the operators of the famous ''Yar'' restaurant; the highway soon became an upper-class recreation area, while the Bashilovka outskirts remained a working-class area. Bashilov and his son Alexander (1807–1854) were buried at lot 14 of

Vagankovo Cemetery Vagankovo Cemetery () is located in the Presnensky District of Moscow, Russia. It was established in 1771, in an effort to curb 1770–1772 Russian plague, an outbreak of bubonic plague in Central Russia. The cemetery was one of those created ou ...

. Bashilov wrote a book of memoirs about reign of Paul I, printed in posthumously in 1871.

References

* Russian: "Отечественная война 1812 года. Энциклопедия", М, Роспэн, 2004, с.53 * Russian: П.В.Сытин, "Из истории московских улиц", М, 1948, p. 283 (Sytin, History of Moscow Streets) * Russian: online biograph

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bashilov, Alexander Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Imperial Russian Army generals Russian urban planners 1777 births 1847 deaths Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery Privy Councillor (Russian Empire) Nobility from the Russian Empire Architects from the Russian Empire